


Survey Says?

by FrozenHearts



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Birds, Cute, Fluff, Fluffy is a crow i made up so the crow master can have a pet, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Rare Pairings, Siblings, more tags to be added as I go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-04 04:23:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17891411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: Corvus wants to confess to the Crow Master.Soren tells him to do so through the surveys and it goes about as well as you'd think when Soren is involved.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love??? Crow Master??
> 
> Also Fluffy is his personal pet bird I made up for this fic, he is not actually a canon character

The Crow Master wasn't supposed to do anything more than collect the mail. A bird flew in, dropped a letter on the desk, then flew out. Spic and span, done and done. Hand off the letters to the right people, file papers into the right drawers and his job was done. He could sit and talk with the birds for hours, and he often did considering he was the only person who ever went in or out of the mail tower.

It was simple, it was easy, and the Crow Master enjoyed his job. He really did.

The only issue were the surveys.

Each guard he asked, they take the paper, sure. The Crow Master was sure they only took the survey from him to be nice, as he never actually got any of them back. The ones he did get back were often full of doodles and jelly stains and whatever else, but they assuredly did not help in keeping his job. The Crow Master sighed as he put aside another stack of unused surveys and forms; there was no point in having them if no one did them in the first place.

"What are we gonna do, Fluffy?" The Crow Master rested his chin in his hands, raising an eyebrow at a large black crow perched on his desk. Fluffy hopped across the polished wood, his beak nudging the stack of papers. The Crow Master groaned, "I know, but there's no point."

Fluffy squawked, hopping over to poke at his wrist with a sharp jab of his beak. The Crow Master winced, pulling his hand away.

"Fluffy!" he chastised the bird, "You do that again and I'll put you in time-out-"

"Hope I'm not included in that time-out?" a deep voice made the Crow Master pick up his head, Fluffy squawking loudly as he was disrupted and flapped his wings in irritation. Standing in the door was a tall man, with dark skin and long black hair. It was tied neatly in a bun, pieces hanging over his shoulder and the Crow Master watched him play with the ends as they just.... looked at each other.

I-I...no! No, no you're not!" The Crow Master already felt his face flushing, the heat searing in his cheeks. Clearing his throat, he shook his head, "No, that's for.... Fluffy."

The man chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "Fluffy?"

Fluffy chirped, and Crow Master shooed the bird away, "I'm sorry! Sorry, how- how can I help you?"

The man shrugged, meandering into the room and ran a finger along the desk. The Crow Master swallowed thickly, sweat beading on his forehead as he watched him.

"I was told this is where the mail went," the man said, and the Crow Master wanted to melt- his voice was silky and deep, enough to drown and was it always this hot in here? He could feel the sweat pooling under his arms and the Crow Master was fairly certain any sweat stains were obvious as he nodded along to whatever the man was saying, biting his lip and putting on what he thought was his best listening face.

He probably looked more constipated than anything, but such was life. Making an idiot of yourself in front of a hot guy? All the rage these days.

"Yes!" the Crow Master said, "Yes it does, did you get anything recently?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that?" the man laughed again.

The Crow Master nodded, grimacing, "Right... right, that's me! The mail guy. Just give me a name?"

The man licked his lips, "Corvus."

The Crow Master nodded, "Corbus- Corvus, sorry, got it. Let me see...."

If the Crow Master was paying attention, he'd have seen how Corvus chuckled under his breath, how Fluffy chirped and made his way over to Corvus. The small smile on his face as he reached out to pet the bird gently. Alas, he was narrowing his eyes at the pesky cupboards and slots stuffed with papers- crinkled sheets and half-ripped missives, balled up orders and upon further inspection an old shopping list from a week ago. Rolling his shoulders, he turned back around, giving Corvus an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry the place is a mess. Not a lot of people come up here so I didn't bother cleaning up the mail slots. I'll get started on that and when I find anything I'll have a guard or someone let you know," the Crow Master said.

Corvus nodded, giving Fluffy one last stroke and the Crow Master glanced away, his eyes falling on the stacks of surveys sitting on the desk. Grabbing one, he thrust it at Corvus, mentally cursing himself for the warble in is voice as he asked, "Can I ask that you fill out a survey? I, uh, I happen to like my job and these are supposed to help?"

Grinning, Corvus took the paper from him, "Yeah, sure. Need it by a specific day?"

"No," said the Crow Master, "Thanks for stopping by. I'll see if I can find that mail for you!"

Once the door was shut, the Crow Master sank into his chair. Fluffy flew over and perched himself on his head, leaning down to screech loudly in his face; the tip of the bird's beak poked his nose and he rolled his eyes.

"I know, Fluffy," the Crow Master sighed, "I know."

\-----

Soren didn't see Corvus that often in the castle grounds. Considering he was higher up in the guard ranks, he often ran special missions that involved being away for weeks at a time, but he always made sure to say hello to the crownsguard, as well as any of the other servants. So when there was a new Crow Master posted in the mail tower, Soren knew Corvus had gone to say hello, maybe introduce himself and offer to show the guy around.

He didn't expect to meet the Crow Master himself, a lean, average looking guy with bright brown eyes, slicked black hair and a perpetual blush on his cheeks. The man was lost, having accidentally made a wrong turn into the sparring ring only to be nearly taken out by a stray sword and a harsh "Look where you're going, idiot!"

After that, Soren knew Corvus was interested. The man was always staring wistfully at the mail tower, eyes going bright as they watched a murder of crows take flight from the windows across the grounds.

"Why don't you just go up there and talk to him?" Soren suggested after taking Corvus down for what felt like the millionth time in the sparring ring. He was only back for a week, but Soren was determined to get him in practice at least once. Corvus gave him a look, shaking his head so fast Soren was nervous he'd get whiplash.

"No way," Corvus picked up his practice sword, raising it level with his waist, "Go again."

"I thought you said hi to him yesterday?" Soren picked up his own sword and started swinging. Soon the courtyard was full of the wooden smacks and grunting that came with training. Manly stuff, really. The sun beat down on them, making Soren sweat in his practice armor. He could see beads dripping off Corvus's forehead as he pushed forward with his sword, almost knocking him over.

"I did," Corvus confirmed, "he was yelling at his bird when I walked in."

"And?" Soren parried an oncoming blow, forcing Corvus back again.

"And he blushed," Corvus swung, whacking Soren's leg guards, "and then he called me _Corbus_."

Soren laughed, dodging another swing, "You probably thought it was cute. Don't lie."

"Shut up and fix your stance," Corvus growled, "My relationships are not your business, anyway."

Soren grinned, "You want a relationship with him, huh? Must like him a lot."

Corvus didn't answer, instead raising his sword and swinging wildly. Soren jumped back, bringing up his own sword to avoid getting slapped across the throat. They did this for a few minutes; Soren would poke fun and Corvus would respond with a scowl and a jab, leaving both men sweaty and sore by the time they realized the sun had set and the training grounds were empty save for themselves.

"Listen," Soren said as they went to put away the training equipment, "I know it isn't my business-"

"Really? Neither did I," Corvus interruppted.

"- but if you want help, I can talk to him for you," Soren finished, a proud smile on his face, "It'll be fine, I promise."

Corvus rolled his eyes, "I don't need help, Soren."

Now it was Soren's turn to laugh, "Dude. The guy is so into you. I can feel it. Hey- did you get a survey thing?"

 -------

He could do this. He was a master tracker, guard to prince and head of the guards alongside Soren. There was no way a piece of paper was going to get to him as much as it was. The words were all neatly scrawled on the parchment, black ink staining his fingers as he read it. The first question was staring him in the face, boring into his skull and Corvus was certain that if he closed his eyes later that night, he'd see this survey in his goddamned sleep.

"Come on, Corvus, you can do this," he muttered, running a hand through his hair, "It's a simple survey!"

Question One: Why did you come to the mail room?

"Easy, to see if I had some mail," Corvus was quick to write it, the pen squeezed between his index and middle fingers. The ink glided on the page, pooling a bit at the end of the letters. Setting the pen down, he scanned the rest of the page. They were simple questions pertaining to just picking up his mail- how thorough the job was, how efficient the job was, simple things that Corvus didn't think really mattered.

Christ, he needed help.

A knock on his door broke through his thoughts, and Corvus was quick to set the paper aside, nearly spilling his ink pot as he did so with a harsh "Come in!"

"You decent?" came Soren's voice and Corvus groaned.

"Yes, Soren," he said, "why wouldn't I be decent in my own quarters?"

Soren shrugged, red creeping into his cheeks as he coughed, "No reason! How's the survey going?"

"It isn't going," Corvus shrugged, "I don't think I should tell him I like him through a survey, of all things."

Soren laughed, a loud hoot as he threw his head back, armor creaking as he went to hold his stomach, "That's so cheesy! Please tell me you finished?"

Hanging his head, Corvus unveiled the slip of paper, sliding it across the desk. The first question was the only one he'd managed to do, unsure if he could take the thing seriously or even keep his thoughts to himself. When Soren suggested using the survey as a way to ask him out, he didn't think it would be this hard. But here it was and here they were and Corvus knew Soren was never going to let him live it down.

"Not even close," Corvus said, "Please help me."

Soren grinned, cracking his knuckles as he dragged a chair over to the desk, "Alright, how'd you answer the first question?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small filler chapter before i get to anything else

It took a week for the Crow Master to even realize he had gotten a survey, apparently. Soren watched as he walked to his tower, meticulously wiped down the glass windows of said tower and then proceeded to let the birds fly free when it was time to fetch the mail from beyond the castle walls. Soren remembered seeing all the birds in flight when he was a kid- a murder of black sharp against the blue of the sky.

Corvus had become no better; always eyeing the tower during a sparring session, finding small excuses to go see the guy (it was mostly stupid things like "Oh, I seem to have misplaced my wallet" or "Oh, I got lost on my way to the bathroom" or the ever popular "Y'all did you see all them crows in the courtyard? Wicked, man, just gnarly" to which the Crow Master would then say those were in fact, his crows, and yes, he did see them flying in the courtyard since he was the one who sent them off.)

Soren had even caught Corvus just... sitting there, outside the Crow Master's office, waiting until the right moment to make it look like he just so happened to sit down for a short rest after doing burpees.

A good effort, Soren had to admit. He was going above and beyond, but he wasn't going beyonder. More beyond. Past the horizon and into the clouds beyond.

"You could just set them up on a dinner date?" Claudia suggested, breaking through Soren's train of thought. They were sitting in one of the many parlor rooms of the castle, Viren having let them get the day to themselves. In Claudia's lap was a book with a dark purple cover, the thing looking thicker than her head. He couldn't exactly make out what the curly black writing on the cover said but Soren didn't care; the whole thing with Corvus and the Crow Master was driving him nuts, distracting him from the one-armed push-ups he had wanted to get started on to be ahead of the next season.

"Then the Crow Master will know something's up!" Soren whined, "I can't do that!"

Claudia shrugged, "Want me to whip up a love potion?"

Soren groaned, "No. I don't want your heeby-jeeby dark hoo-ha magic spells anywhere near this, okay? Corvus asked me to help him-"

"More like you forced him to let you help him," Claudia snorted.

"- so that's what I'm gonna do," Soren ignored her, getting up from the floor to shake his limbs out. He could feel a faint stretch in his calves, wincing at the creak of his joints as he rolled his ankles and wrists.

"Uh-huh," Claudia smirked, "Don't come crying to me when everything goes to... bull droppings."

"Ooh, nice save," Soren winced.

Claudia shrugged, "I cursed one too many times in front of Gren, I need to be careful."

Soren rolled his eyes. Of course that happened. Anyone who cursed in front of Gren of all people deserved a watchful eye- he was a goody-two-shoes down to the bone and he never let anyone forget it. He was nice though, so Soren usually let his chastising slide with only minor annoyance during his reps. He wasn't entirely sure how happy General Amaya was when he censored her all the time but Soren couldn't blame him on account of one of the prince's literally being like, twelve? Five? He wasn't sure, but however old Prince Ezran was, he was still really young. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Claudia reading her book while Soren did a few stretches. The grandfather clock against the far wall ticked monotonously, counting down the seconds they had until their father ultimately came to collect them for whatever he wanted them for.

"Please keep the love potion ready as a fail-safe," Soren relented.

Claudia hummed, turning a page in her book.

It was around five in the afternoon when anyone bothered to come looking for them, and Soren almost fell off the couch in his rush to sit up properly or be labelled a scoundrel for lazing about after exercising. Claudia was still reading, having given up on trying to keep the conversation going; once their dad walked in, he'd sweep Claudia up to do whatever it is they did with their hoo-doo voo-doo, leaving Soren by himself, utterly alone and utterly bored. The bell on the grandfather clock tolled five times, on the dot and Claudia snapped her book shut.

Instead of their father, however, it was Corvus who ran in, his footsteps harsh, fists clenched at his sides. His hair was not up in it's usual style but hanging in dreads down his back; his shoulders were tense and Soren was certain with the amount of pacing he was doing, Corvus would make a new world record for boring a hole into the floor.

"You know where I'll be if you need me, Sor-Bear," Claudia wiggled her fingers as she gracefully stood up and made her way out of the room. Corvus seemed to not have noticed her at all, with the way he held himself, just barely avoiding knocking into her as she left.

"Corvus?" Soren asked, "You okay, buddy?"

Corvus plopped himself down in Claudia's chair, hanging his head in his hands.

Right then, Soren sighed, rolling his shoulders, that was a definite no.

Time to do some damage control.


End file.
